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Thursday, June 15, 2017

Yankees Drop Series In Anaheim, Move On To Oakland

After Gary Sanchez's first inning three-run homer last night, I turned off the TV and went to bed feeling pretty good. Pleasant dreams turned into a rude awakening, however.

Between Pineda's six-inning slog, the burnt-out bullpen, third base coach Joe Espada's bad send and Eric Young, Jr's Mike Trout impersonation, there was no way the Yankees were going to win this game.

The only real bright spot: Aaron Hicks robbing Luis Valbuena of a grand slam in the bottom of the first inning. Definitely one of MLB's plays of the night.

Only thing to do now is turn the page. On to Oakland. Oh great, Sonny Gray and Sean Manaea await. Gray has been pedestrian this year, but Manaea has been money. In those first two games the Yankees will counter with Jordan Montgomery and Luis Severino respectively. Tanaka also pitches in the series, but the fourth starter for the Yankees, originally CC Sabathia, is TBD.

The Yankees are saying four weeks for CC, which probably means about six. If it will really be that long, perhaps Chance Adams will get an opportunity. We'll know in a few days.

Bird Still Grounded

Greg Bird's minor league rehab assignment is taking longer than we all expected. Why? Probably because he is batting .143. He struck out twice last night, but did draw a walk and score a run. Makes me wonder if that ankle isn't completely healed.

According a report, even if he is activated off the DL, Bird will have to earn a call-up if he wants to play in the Big Leagues again. If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to call up Tyler Austin instead of running Chris Carter out there everyday? Since his return from the DL, Austin is batting .303. He couldn't be any worse in the Majors than Carter.

In any case, my heart goes out to Greg Bird. Hopefully he will find it soon